Tile and tiling composed thereof.



1. A. FERGUSON.

TILE AND TlLlNG COMPOSED THEREOF.

Patented Dec. 11, 1917i 2 SHEET$SHEET I.

M Swmwtoz e[@%7d fi%w zmwy J. .FERGUSON.

TILE AND TILING COMPOSED THEREOF.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25. I917.

Patented Dec. H, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WWW.

iinrrnn srarns rarnnr oriaibn.

JOHN A. rniaeuson', 0F DENVER, ooLoaAno.

TILE AND TII-JING COMPOSED THEREOF.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. FERGUSON a citizen of the United States,residing at tie city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tiles and TilingComposed Thereof and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to improvements in tiles and tiling composedthereof, the tile elements being formed from a suitable plasticsubstance allowed to set in a mold form and become thoroughly hardened.

While the invention is particularly designed with relation to roofingtiles, molded from a cementitious mixture, it will be understood thatthe words tile and tiling, as herein used, are not limited necessarilyto roofing structures, but cover analogous forms of tiles usedcollectively in other forms of tiling, wherein one tile element is laidin overlapped and inter-engaged association with another.

As such cement mixtures have a decided tendency to settle, when in afairly liquid state, I have found that, in making these more or lessfragile articles, it is of great advantage to mold each tile, with itstop surface facing downward, in a suitable mold. form or settling pan,wherein the heavier cement in part becomes more evenly distributedtoward the bottom of the mold form, not only providin a smooth,glazelike finished top surface or the tile, but also producing asomewhat stratiform facing, which, when thoroughly indurated, willuniformly reinforce, as it were, the whole body structure of the tile.

One of the objects of this invention, there fore, is to preserve thesuperior quality of such tiles as to uniform coherence and finishedfacing, and at the same time producing tiles of novel structure andformation, whereby, when collectively laid as tiling, provision is somade for the overlapping and inter-engaging of the tile elements ininterlocked relation that a more satisfactory water-tight joinder isefiected, between the Patented Dec. ii, ram.

Application filed May 25, 1917. Serial No. 170,902.

tiling elements, which is especially desirable in tiled roofing and thelike, where proof against leakage is essential.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of securingelement, embedded in the body of the tiles and projecting beyond theirupper end faces, whereby each individual tile may be firmly butdetachably secured to the tiling support in such manner that anindividual tile, if it should happen to become broken or otherwiseineffective, may readily be detached and replaced by a similar tile,which in turn is also fixedly secured to but in detachable relation withthe tiling support, and without substantially disturbing any other partof the roofing structure.

Vith these and other objects in View, the invention consists of thenovel structural formation of the tiles, and in the combination andarrangement of their inter-engaging locking elements, cooperating whenlaid as tiling, together with the novel form of securing element. fordetachably securing the tiles to the tiling support, independently ofthe interlocked association of the tile elements collectively, all ofwhich will more fully hereinafter appear, the particular features ofnovelty being more succinctly. set forth in the appended claims.

To more fully disclose the invention, reference will now be had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in whichdrawings like reference characters refer to the same parts in theseveral views, and in Which Figure 1, is a perspective view of a portionof a tiled roofing, illustrating the manner of laying the sets of tilesrelatively to each other, and portions of the tile elements being brokenaway to show more clearly the inter-engaged locking beads and groovesthereof.

Fig. 2, is a view, in longitudinal vertical section, taken along theline 2-2 of Fig. 1, the intermediate overtopping or spanning tiles beingomitted.

Fig. 3, is a vertical transverse sectional view, taken along the line3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4, is a bottom plan View of one of the foundation or base tileelements, and additionally illustrating, in dotted lines, theapplication of an embedded metal reinforcing netting, if desired, and

Fig. 5, is a fragmentary detail horizontal sectional view, taken onthe'line 5-5 of Fig.

2, and showing the end securing metal strip in embedded relation withthe tile body.

In fully carrying out my present invention, I employ two sets of tileelements, which may be conveniently referred to as base or foundationtiles, in one instance, and as spanner or topping tiles, in the other,the former being laid in laterally spaced rows and being designated bythe numeral 6, while the latter surmount and cover the lateral space orgap, between the rows of base tiles, and are designated by the numeral7.

These two sets of tile elements, however, are substantially similar ingeneral structure, with the exception that the base tiles 6 are slightlylonger than the spanner tiles 7, and the spanner tiles are notnecessarily provided, on their top faces, with the longitudinal edgebeads formed on the top faces of the base tiles, as hereinafter referredto.

Each one of the tiles is provided on its top face, at the upper endthereof, with a transversely disposed raised surface or bead 8, whichpreferably lies immediately adjacent the upper end face of the tile,both the end faces and side faces of the tiles being desirably slightlybeveled as shown.

With these beads 8 so located, immediately adjacent the upper end facesof the tiles, instead of farther down on their top surfaces, the wasteof considerable material is avoided, as the opposite superimposed end ofthe next adjacent upper tile completely overlaps these beaded portions,when the tiles are laid as tiling.

Inaddition to this transverse bead, the top face'of each of the-basetiles 6 is further provided with a longitudinal bead 9 at both sides ofthe tile, which beads are also disposed immediately adjacent the sidefaces thereof, practically forming an upwardly projecting roundedcontinuation of the side surfaces.

At the opposite or lower end of the base tiles 6, the corners thereofare recessed, as at 10, providing a centrally projecting tongue portion11, the transverse depth of said recesses being sufiicient to permit theside faces 12 of the tongue portion to lie well within the confines ofthe longitudinal heads 9, so that when the base tiles are laid in rowsthe overlapping or tongued end of an upper tile will form, with thebeads 9 of a lower tile, sockcted spaces 13 therebetween, headed by theabutting transverse faces 14 of these corner recesses 10, which areadapted to receive and seat the upper corners of a spanner tile, ininter-engaged relation, the joinder therebetween being completelycovered by the superimposed lower end of the next adjacent upper spannertile.

The bottom faces of the base tiles, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4, areeach provided with a longitudinal groove 15, near both side edge facesthereof, and these grooves 15 are disposed in substantialcomplementaryalinement with the beads 9 on the. top faces, extending from thetransverse faces 1i of the corner recesses to the opposite ends of thetiles.

Also a transverse groove 16 is formed in the bottom faces of thesetiles, located substantially forward of the tongue portion 11, andmerging at their ends into the longitudinal grooves 15. It will beobserved that these transverse grooves 16 are located at the lower endof the tiles, or at the end distantfrom the top beads.

The bottom faces of the spanner tiles 7 are similarly provided with atransverse groove 17 at their ends distant from the beads 8, andlikewise are also provided with the longitudinal side grooves 18,forming with the side faces the overhanging edge portions 19, which attheir upper ends func tion as interlocking shoulders fitting within thesocketed spaces 13 hereinbefore mentioned.

The bottom faces of these spanner tiles 7 are identical with the bottomfaces of the base tiles, the only difference between the two sets oftiles, as previously stated, being that the spanner tiles need not beprovided with the top longitudinal heads 9, and also they are shorterthan the base tiles, terminating in the plane of the transverse faces14, and therefore minus the tongue portion 11.

2O designates a flat angularly bent metallic securing strip, ofsubstantially Z-shaped construction with elongated arms, the inner arm21 of which is adapted to be embedded within the body of the tile, whenthe latter is being molded, and in order to prevent the displacement orpulling out of this securing element, the inner arm is provided with oneor more apertures 22, within which the cement 23 of the tile bodyembedded, providing anchoring means therefor, as more clearly shown inFig. 5. At the same time it will be noted, especially from Fig. 2, thatthe bent portion, connecting the inner and outer arms, of thesubstantially Z-shaped securing member. is also embedded in the cementtile body, thus atl'ording additional security against the pulling out.or displacement of the metallic securing element.

The other end or arm Qet of this securing element projects outwardlybeyond the upper end face of the tile. substantially flush with thebottom face thereof. and is provided with a key-hole slot 25, theenlarged opening of which is disposed toward the end face of the tile,while the elongated opening is disposed outwardly, as clearly shown. sothat when a tile is laid in place, the enlarged o .)ening is slippedover a headed stud or nail. 2c, in the tiling support, and the tile sliddmvnwardly, with the stud or nail riding in the elongated opening of thekey-hole slot, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1.

In Fig. l, I have shown. in dotted lines at 27, a metallic netting,embedded in the body of the tile as it is molded, and serving as areinforcing means therefor, but I lay no particular claim to thisfeature, as it is old in practice and may be inclnded or omitted asdesired. a

In applying the invention as a tiled roofing. the base tiles (3 arelaid. in parallel rows on the roofing support, the rows being spacedapart a distance to conform with the lateral space between thelongitudinal grooves 15 in their underneath faces.

As each tile is laid, where the securing strips 20 are employed, a naildriven into the roofing support through the elongated portion of thekey-hole slot, or where the nail or a headed stud is driven first intothe roofing, then the enlarged opening of the key-hole slot is passedover the nail head, and the tile slid down until the nail passes up tothe closed end of the elongated opening, securely holding the tiledetaehably secured to the roofing support.

From Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that the lower end of an uppertile-6 substantially projects beyond to completely overlap the upper endof the next adjacent tile below, with the faces 12, of the tongueportion 11 of the upper tile, slightly spaced from the longitudinalbeads 9 of the lower tile, leaving socket-like spaces therebetween.

At the same time the transverse head 8 on the top face of the lower tileis caused to inter-engage the transverse groove 16 in the underneathface of the tile above, while the upper ends of the longitudinal beads 9of the lower tile interengage the lower portions of the longitudinalgrooves 15 of the upper tile.

The spanner tiles are laid with their upper corners seated within andfilling the corner recesses 10 of the alternate rows of base tiles toprovide an inter-engaged joinder therewith, these tiles being also laidwith their longitudinal grooves 18 inter-engaged by their complementarylongitudinal heads 9 of the base tiles of alternate rows, so that theupper overhanging ledge portions 19 of the spanner tiles are projectedinto the socket-like spaces 13, serving in a fashion as a wedging meansbetween the faces 12 of the tongues 11 and their adjacent beads 9, moresecurely holding the tiles in lateral security.

The lower end of an upper spanner tile substantially overlaps the upperend of of interlocked tiles,

a lower spanner tile, with the transverse head 8 of the lower tileinter-engaging the transverse groove 17 of the upper one, and thisoverlap .-oi'npletely closes the otherwise open tops of the cornerrecesses 10 of the base tiles.

The additional securing elements 20 are of themselves also important,for although I am aware that somewhat similar securing members haveheretofore been employed, they will not function the same as my improvedmeans, as they simply provide a plain aperture for driving a nailthrough, and hence it a tile becomes broken, the nail has to be cut offto replace the defective tile, so that the replacing tile cannot besecured to the roofing support. By the keyhole slot connection, however,by simply prying up the adjacent tiles slightly, the broken tile may beslid upwardly to disengage the key-hole slot from the securing nail,when the broken tile may be withdrawn. A new tile is then set in placeby passing the enlarged opening of the keyhole slot over the nail head,and then sliding the tile downwardly, reversing the operation ofremoval, as is believed to be apparent.

Thus by the general arrangement and novel functioning of elements asdescribed, a substantially secured leak-proof roofing,

is provided.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention and the manner of carrying outthe same in its entirety, it will be understood that I do not limitmyself to the precise details set forth, excepting as come within the)urview of the ensuing claims and a roasona le construction thereof,contemplating a fair range of equivalents.

What I do claim as new and patentable, 1s:-

1. A roofing tile, comprising a body por tion, rabbeted at its lower endto form corner recesses and a central tongue portion, the top face ofsaid tile having a transverse bead, disposed immediately adjacent itsupper end edge, and a pair of longitudinal beads, one of which extendsalong each side edge thereof. the underneath face of the tile beingprovided with a pair of longitudinal grooves, disposed in congruentalinement with said longitudinal beads on the top face, the saidlongitudinal beads and grooves terminating at said corner recesses, andthe underneath face of said tile being also pr vided with a transversegroove, merging at its ends into said longitudinal grooves at positionssubstantially distant from the terminal lower ends of the latter andforwardly of said tongue portion, substantially as described.

2. In tiling for roofing or the like, the employment of base tilesproviding, on their top and underneath faces respectively,

transverse and longitudinal beads and grooves, functioning as set forth,andalso providing, at their lower ends, corner rceesses and a centraltongue, the said tiles beinglaid in substantially spaced rows, with thetongue portion of one tile overlapping the upper end of an adjacenttile, the transverse head of the lower tile inter-engaging thetransverse groove of the upper one, and the upper ends of thelongitudinal beads of the lower tile inter-engaging the lower ends ofthe longitudinal grooves of the upper tile; in combination with spannertiles disposed in rows alternating with said base tiles, for coveringthe spaces therebetween, each having a transverse bead'on its top faceand a transverse groove and longitudinal grooves in its underneath face,said beads and grooves being disposed and functioning as set forth, andsaid spanner tiles being so laid that their upper corners seat in saidcorner recesses of the alternate rows of base tiles, the lower end ofone spanner tile o,verlapping the upper end of a spanner tile below andcompletely covering the adjacently opposed corner recesses of the basetiles, with the transverse bead of a lower spanner tile inter-engagingthe transverse groove of an upper one, and the proximate longitudinalbeads, of alternate rows of base tiles, inter-engaging the longitudinalgrooves of the spanner tiles, substantiallv as described.

3. The combination with a roofing tile molded from a cementitiousmixture, substantially as set forth, of a substantially Z- shapedmetallic securing element, having elongated arms, the inner arm and bentportion of said securing element being actually embedded within thecement tile body, at one end of the latter, While the same is beingmolded, and with its outer arm projecting beyond that end edge face ofthe tile; the inner end of said securing element being suitablyapertured to receive the cement mixture, in embedded relation, toprovide anchoring means for assisting in preventing its displacement,and the said projecting end thereof, lying entirely outside of the tilebody, being adapted to engage fastening means on the tiling support,independently of any of the other tiles, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

JOHN A. FERGUSON.

